Mass Effect: Galactic Nights
by Seventh Phoenix
Summary: Ten months after the devastating attack on the Citadel, a young, ambitious quarian, Leni'Orm nar Rayya, is leaving on the Pilgrimage. On her Pilgrimage, Leni must wander around the galaxy, looking for anything of interest. How will her trip go?
1. Chapter 1

It was a silent night aboard the Rayya, an old, popular quarian vessel that is part of the Migrant Fleet. A young female quarian, Leni'Orm nar Rayya, was preparing to go on her Pilgrimage. Her six-month training - a program that is basically a prerequisite for every quarian who is about to go on their Pilgrimage - had come to an end. Despite her being nervous, she knew going on the Pilgrimage was about the best she - and any other young quarian - could do to ensure her people's survival. The night before she left for her Pilgrimage, Leni was sitting with her parents in their own tiny living quarter. Both her parents were asleep, but the fact that in a matter of hours she would be leaving the Migrant Fleet kept her from sleeping. Leni was unsure what to do; she kept wondering if she would ever even return to the Migrant Fleet after her departure tomorrow. After all, the quarian Pilgrimage can be risky. Quarians on their Pilgrimage travel around the galaxy completely on their own, which naturally involves visiting new worlds, meeting new people of wholly different species, and even doing business with them - all in hopes of finding something that might be of interest to their people.

Leni understood this, yet it was only natural for her to be so nervous. After spending several hours of thinking about her Pilgrimage and not trying to sleep, she took a quick look at her parents, who were peacefully sleeping to her side. She remembered that she might never see them again when she steps out of their living quarter the next day, forcing her to shed a few tears before she finally lay down and closed her eyes.

After about seven hours of restless sleep, Leni woke up and looked to her side to see her mother cooking breakfast. Leni asked, in a tried voice, "Mom, is that you?" to which her mother replied,

"Yes, Leni. I was about to wake you up. Your food is ready. You only have one hour before you meet with the Admirals for the final briefing prior to leaving the Migrant Fleet."

Leni jumped from her bed and hugged her mother. "I love you, Mom," Leni said, her voice sad and tuneful, "I will never forget you. Ever."

"Oh, it's okay, Leni," the mother said, trying to comfort her daughter. "We all went on the Pilgrimage. Me. Your father. Even the Admirals you're going to meet shortly."

"Thank you, Mom," Leni said, her voice more comfortable, "I will always remember what you said to me." Leni didn't know what her mother was feeling at this point, but she thought she'd say that so she could at least reduce the worries.

A few minutes of silence had passed, until the breakfast was ready. Understandably, Leni didn't feel like eating. But she knew it was the least she could do to satisfy her mother - especially in a moment like this. Leni started eating. She had a number of brief conversations with her mother during the meal, most of which were about her mother's past experience with the Pilgrimage.

After breakfast, Leni asked her mother, "Where is dad? I want to see him before I leave."

"He went down to the trading deck shortly before you woke up," the mother answered. "Let's go meet him together. We don't have much time left until you're supposed to be with the Admirals."

The two made their way through the crowded corridors of the Rayya's living quarters. They took the stairs down to the trading deck of the Rayya, where the residents of the ship could buy, sell and borrow items of all kinds. Despite the crowd, Leni was able to notice her father thanks to his reddish enviro-suit, which was a rarity among the residents of the Rayya.

"There he is," Leni shouted, "Come on. Let's go to him," Her father was buying some groceries for their living quarter. "Dad…" Leni shouted again, when her father immediately recognized the voice and turned around to see her.

"Oh, Leni!" he exclaimed, "I was afraid I wouldn't have the chance to go back to our room early enough and talk to you before you leave."

"Are you kidding me, dad? I would never leave before I see you." Leni argued, her voice again very tuneful and honest, "Look, dad, I just wanted to thank you. You and mom have done more good to me than I will ever do to you." Then she turned her face to her mother, who was standing right behind her, and said "It's that time… I'm going on my Pilgrimage. Just like you both have before." Now she turned her face back to her father, "Dad, please take care of our room. Take care of mom. Take care of everything that belongs to us and all of the Rayya. And…"

Before she could continue, her father interrupted by saying,"Leni, please, you don't have to tell me that. You know I've always considered what's best for us to be my number-one priority. And I know you will do even better with your Pilgrimage," he continued, "Who knows? You could be the reason for us to reclaim our homeworld from the geth. You could do the impossible. Just try to be confident and believe in yourself. After all, this is what the Pilgrimage is about."

By the time the father finished his words, Leni was crying, though he couldn't tell as her face was blocked out by her mask. Without saying a word, she pushed herself onto him and hugged him. It wasn't until she felt his body touching hers that he realized she was crying, but trying her best to not to cry out loud.

"It's fine, Leni," he said, his deep voice making Leni feel all safe and relaxed.

"It's time for me to go," Leni said, "It's time for me to leave you, to leave mom, to leave the Rayya, to leave the whole of the Migrant Fleet," by which she followed, "It's time for me to leave my life," causing both of her parents to realize just how serious the pain she felt deep inside her was. In any case, there wasn't much they could do. They had gone through this exact same moment before. It had more or less become the norm for quarians prior to leaving for their Pilgrimage.

Leni's final conversation with her parents was cut short when the announcement of the meeting with the Admirals began. The three of them were still in the middle of the crowded trading deck. Before she left for the meeting, Leni didn't hesitate to share a final hug with both of her parents and tell them she loved them, at which point all three were already crying. Leni could confidently tell her parents were crying with her - despite whatever psychological privacy their enviro-suits provided them with. Now she turned around and began to walk back to the stairs, the pain in her heart increasing with every step she took further from where her parents were standing. Both her parents held each other as Leni disappeared in the crowd, when her mother asked, "Leni will be fine, right?" to which the father replied,

"I know she will… I know."

Leni didn't immediately make her way up to the hall where she was supposed to meet with the Admirals. Instead, she went back to their living quarter to leave a small note for her parents, where she wrote,

_To the two most important people to me, I am sorry for anything I did that you didn't appreciate. I truly apologize if I have done something inappropriate to either of you before. I will always love you. Young or old. Alive or dead. Your love will never perish, even when I do._

_Keelah se'lai, _

_Leni,_

She left the note on her parents' bed, then left to the meeting hall.

Leni already knew what was going to be said during the meeting, but she had to go anyway. There were close to fifty other quarians who happened to be going on their Pilgrimage that day as well. The entire meeting didn't last for more than fifteen minutes, after which the young quarians were asked to prepare themselves for a march down to the shuttle port of the Rayya, where small shuttles were kept should a resident of the mothership wish to depart. These shuttles are designed by quarian engineers specifically for long-distance travel. The shuttles vary in size, but the average shuttle is capable of holding two to six passengers at any one time. But quarians departing on their Pilgrimage almost never leave in groups. Instead, each quarian to leave the flotilla is given a shuttle for them and for them alone. There are many reasons for this, but the major reason would be due to the fact that quarians going on their Pilgrimage are assumed to be completely on their own. As a quarian gains control of their own shuttle, they can start their adventure as they please, go anywhere they want. Typically, each shuttle had some basic supplies for a single quarian passenger in order to help them on their first journey out of the flotilla. These include ready-made food, a small life-support system, a bed, an omni-tool, and an extra supply of credits. In addition, every shuttle had a terminal with the names and locations of some major public locations in the galaxy, such as the Citadel, Ilium, etc.

Leni was waiting in line for her turn to take a shuttle and leave. As she was waiting, she couldn't help but think what to do, where to start, or what her parents are going to be like without her. Within ten minutes, her turn had come. Now Leni was in front of the quarian guard responsible for the shuttles, who bowed for Leni as she was walking past him onto her shuttle, and wished her luck. She turned back to him, but didn't say anything, then she proceeded to enter the shuttle. There wasn't much Leni could do onboard. She already knew what was waiting for her inside - a number of supplies plus the pilot bay. She sat down and started to carefully look around the place, trying to make herself as familiar and comfortable as possible - knowing that she would spend a while onboard this shuttle. Of course, during the six-month program prior to the Pilgrimage, quarians were taught how to fly ships. So, flying the shuttle wasn't a problem for Leni. For her, the problem was where to take the shuttle.

Ready to take off, Leni began initiating the engines, selecting an initial direction for her to follow until she was completely out of the Migrant Fleet. The shuttle began to gently lift itself off the ground, leaving the port of the Rayya. Leni was now in full control of the shuttle's navigation systems. She kept a constant speed of about a hundred thousand miles per minute as she was flying past the countless vessels of the Migrant Fleet. Because the Migrant Fleet is very large, it took her hours until she noticed that the ships all around her began to look smaller and closer to each other as she flew further and further out, until she was finally out of the Migrant Fleet.


	2. Chapter 2

Even though this was the first time she had ever been beyond the confines of the Migrant Fleet, Leni had a good knowledge of the general status of the galaxy. In fact, that was part of what she learned from her six-month training course. Young quarians were given what one would call lessons on the current setting of the galaxy, whether it be politically, economically, socially or otherwise. Leni knew the entire galaxy was two steps away from certain annihilation less than a year ago. Though, like the rest of her people, she didn't know the attack was actually pursued by the Reapers. What she did know, however, was heart-breaking for her. The Council regarded the attack on the Citadel as an action taken by a Spectre who had gone rogue - Saren Arterius. Of course, Saren didn't do everything on his own. He had an entire army of geth, which were created by Leni's own species - the quarians. Leni understood this very well. She knew that, a few centuries ago, her people were expelled from the Citadel as soon as the Council was aware of their direct involvement in creating potentially dangerous artificial intelligence. But that was bad enough; now that AI was taken advantage of by Saren and attacked the Citadel as well as the Council. What would the rest of the galaxy think of the quarians now? Would Leni feel welcome when meeting with new species? Leni had asked herself such questions more times than she could remember, until she realized only time would tell.

The current location of the Migrant Fleet was within the Hawking Eta cluster - a star cluster with a handful of mapped systems relatively close to the galactic center. The shuttle's navigation system indicated the existence of a mass relay within the Chandrasekhar star system of the same cluster. Leni plotted a course to Chandrasekhar, which, fortunately for her, wasn't too far away. A few hours had gone, preceded by nothing but wild thinking and doubts, the navigation system signaled Leni that the selected destination was within reach. Leni proceeded to determine the exact location of the mass relay, then changed course accordingly. The young quarian had already selected her first destination for the Pilgrimage - the Citadel. There was no specific reason that led her to choose what she chose, but she was curious to go and drop by a visit to the governmental center of the galaxy, of which her people used to be an active part.

Closing in to the mass relay, Leni made sure she was well-tied to her seat and ready for her first FTL jump to the other side of the galaxy. She also made sure to choose the mass relay nearest the Citadel, so she could continue on to her final destination once she had reached the said relay. Finally, the shuttle hit the mass relay and jumped straight in the direction of the Serpent Nebula, where the Citadel and its respective mass relay were located. The distance between Hawking Eta and the Serpent Nebula was wordlessly awesome, but with FTL technology, Leni wasn't too worried about waiting. The seemingly great piloting skills Leni possessed certainly come as no surprise; quarians were given extensive lessons on how to control a ship and navigate between different locations in the middle of interstellar space. That plus the quarians' natural and long-standing experience with ships and space vehicles in general turned Leni into an excellent young pilot.

Now was a good time for Leni to collect herself and see what she needed for her stay on the Citadel. After all, there wasn't much a pilot could do during FTL flight. All Leni had to do is confirm her shuttle was heading to the desired destination, which she had already done. So, Leni took the time to search the back of the shuttle for anything that might be of help to her. She found food, drinks, e-books, and some other stuff. She grabbed a drink and an e-book, then sat down on the nearby bed and started reading while enjoying her drink. Leni was basically trying to pass the time until the shuttle was close enough to the next mass relay. The e-book she was holding was written by a famous quarian philosopher over a century ago. It wasn't a story; instead, it was a book envisioning the future of the quarians as one of two things; dark or bright. The former stated that the quarians would end up running out of resources and supplies, leading to the death of the Migrant Fleet and, consequently, the entire quarian race; whereas the latter stated that the quarians would eventually be able to overcome the geth defenses and regain full control of them, helping them to reclaim their homeworld and start a new, much happier life. Of course, each one of the two phases had at least 250 pages full of theories and speculation. Leni had read that book twice before, but, being one of her favorite books, she still enjoyed zipping through it while waiting for an arrival signal from the shuttle's navigation system.

The shuttle was now less than ten minutes away from the Citadel relay. The signal led Leni to go back to where she was sitting and double-check the destination to which she was heading. She took a seat and waited for a short while until she could notice the brilliance of the Serpent Nebula getting closer with every passing second. Within minutes, the shuttle was already part of the dense, pinky clouds of the Serpent Nebula and nearing the Citadel's mass relay. As soon as it hit the mass relay, the shuttle was back to its original, non-FTL speed. This meant that Leni had to pilot her vehicle again. Soon thereafter, Leni was in awe when she saw that the Citadel started to take shape on her navigation screens. The great space station always did this to new visitors. Even from a distance, anyone could hardly miss its gigantic structure, floating peacefully around the white giant star Widow. It was a great view in Leni's eyes, as was it in billions others' who came before her.

"Citadel control. Identification required," was the message Leni received as she was in the immediate vicinity of the Citadel, which she was anticipating.

"This is Leni'Orm nar Rayya from the Migrant Fleet, requesting permission to dock," she answered.

"Roger that. Where do you wish to dock?"

"Doesn't matter," Leni answered, after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Roger. You may proceed to the closest docking bay to your position - the Northern Lights Wards."

"On it. Thank you, Citadel Control."

Leni's shuttle docked at the Northern Lights Wards a few minutes after she was given permission. Once her shuttle had come to a complete stop, Leni took a small pack containing extra credits from the back room of the shuttle. There was a pistol and a shotgun. Quarians going on their Pilgrimage were allowed weapons as they were taught how to use them, so part of the supplies included with each shuttle to depart the Migrant Fleet was a gun or two. Leni wondered whether she should take a weapon with her. She ended up grabbing the pistol and leaving the shotgun.

Now that she was ready to leave the shuttle, the young quarian proceeded to open up the shuttle's doors and step out. The first thing she saw was a turian guard holding an assault rifle and staring back at her. Before she could speak, the guard confronted her, after taking a couple steps forward,

"Quarian, C-Sec here. Is this your shuttle?"

"Excuse me, but what's C-Sec?" Leni asked, her voice innocent.

"That wasn't the question; is this your shuttle or not, quarian?"

"Yes, it is my shuttle. What's the problem?"

"Standard protocol. You need to go to the C-Sec officer by the door over there and sign as a visitor."

"Why do I need to do that? And what's C-Sec anyway?"

"Citadel Security. And Citadel Security doesn't negotiate with visitors. Proceed to the officer and make your signature."

Leni stood still for several seconds, looking the guard in the eye, obviously not happy with the way she had been treated so far.

"That would mean now," the turian continued, making Leni walk past him without saying a word.

When she reached the officer at the reception counter, there were two others visitors waiting to make their signatures. One was a human, and the other was an asari. Leni stood still behind the asari, who was just next in line. A few minutes later, it was her turn. The C-Sec officer, also a turian, asked Leni her name before anything.

"Leni'Orm nar Rayya," she answered.

"Oh, you're the quarian who just docked? I see," the officer replied.

"News travel fast here," Leni commented jokingly.

"Indeed, quarian. Since the attack ten months ago, everything's gone to hell. Now security on the Citadel is two times as heavy," he informed her.

"Understandable. So why am I here?" the young quarian wondered.

"To sign in." the turian answered immediately. "Here, just place your right thumb on the screen for three full seconds. Ready?"

Next, Leni proceeded to the door in front of her, leading to the heart of the Northern Lights Wards. It wasn't until she took a few steps towards the door when the officer noticed the pistol attached to her belt.

"Hey, wait!" the turian exclaimed, drawing Leni's full attention. "Don't you know that firearms are strictly prohibited on the Citadel? You must hand over your gun before you walk through that door."

Leni wasn't sure what to say, but there wasn't anything she could say. At least, she did expect this to happen. So, without further negotiation, she gave the officer the pistol as instructed.

"Good girl." the turian complemented her playfully. "We'll give it back to you on your departure." he confirmed.

"Can I go in now?" Leni asked.

"Absolutely. Enjoy your stay on the Citadel, quarian. And stay out of trouble."


	3. Chapter 3

Before she could start exploring the place, Leni wanted to find someplace where she could contact her parents and inform them of her current status. It had been nearly ten hours since she got off the Rayya, and she didn't want to continue her adventure before updating her parents.

The main area of the Northern Lights Wards was a bit crowded. Leni stood still for a long minute taking it all in. She saw visitors of all species scattering throughout the area. There were two salarians having a conversation not too far from the entrance where Leni was standing. To the far left was a krogan being confronted by a C-Sec officer, and to the far right were two male humans who appeared to be flirting with an asari near the spectacular view of the outer vicinity of the Northern Lights Wards. No matter how many people were around, Leni was glad that nobody seemed to take notice of her presence, making her feel more relaxed and less nervous. She moved forward to take a look at the view, which, of course, she thought was breathtaking. She stared at the view in silence, pondering the beauty of the galaxy around her. Still looking at the view, Leni closed her eyes to remember her father's words regarding the Pilgrimage and how it is the only way for the quarians to regain what is rightfully theirs - until she was interrupted by a female voice behind he,

"Excuse me?" said the female.

Caught by surprise, Leni quickly turned around to see who was behind her - an asari.

"Oh, hold it right there, quarian. I'm not going to hurt you." the asari said jokingly, in response to Leni's reaction.

"Sorry. I was... I was just... I didn't... never mind. Forget I said anything. So who are you?" Leni replied, feeling all awkward.

"Hahaha, you're such a sweet girl! Um, anyway, my name is Alana T'Railie. I work as an assistant and guide for visitors here in the Northern Lights Wards area. I assume this is your first visit to the Citadel?"

"Wait, I'm not going to say a word until you show me some ID." Leni commented, her voice serious.

"You're very blunt, quarian. But you're right I guess. Here is the ID. Is that good enough?" the asari asked sarcastically while holding up her ID and smiling.

"OK. Sorry for that. I prefer to take precautions when in unfamiliar territory." was Leni's innocent and yet honest response to the asari.

"Haha, not at all, honey. So, let me guess, this IS your first time on the Citadel, right?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is. In fact, I just arrived less than ten minutes ago."

"I see. So you must need my help then."

" Yes, actually, I do. I wish to contact my parents. Where may I do that?"

"Oh, don't you want to take a tour of the wards first?"

"It's no problem. I just want to contact my parents. Please." Leni insisted.

"Very well. There is a network of galactic terminals up the corridor over there, allowing you to contact anyone within a fifty-thousand-light-year radius." the assistant informed her.

"Sounds good. Shall we go there now?" the young quarian said suggestively.

"Sure thing. Follow me."

It was a five-minute walk from where they were standing to the terminals. Leni spent the time asking the asari the kinds of questions a first-time visitor would be expected to ask. Fortunately, Leni grew more and more confident as she was making her way with the assistant. She thought she was lucky to have stumbled across someone who could guide her through for a while.

"And here we are." was the assistant's comment when they reached the terminals.

"Is this for free?" asked Leni, out of curiosity.

"Unfortunately not. But it depends on how you want to use it. To send a message or to make a call?"

"I don't suppose I'll be able to directly call my parents, as the flotilla makes a habit of blocking outside communications. Sending a text message would be more appropriate."

"Very well. Anything else I can help you with, honey?"

"It's fine. Thank you. My name is Leni, by the way."

"Aw, what a nice name! Okay, Leni. I'll be right where we first met if you need anything, assuming I don't get distracted by new visitors. Got it?"

"Got it." Leni said, nodding in acceptance.

The terminal section was a single ten-meter corridor. There were a total of twenty terminals, each set of ten terminals along the wall to either side of the corridor, each terminal separated by exactly one meter and opposite to another from the other wall. Leni noticed the corridor was mostly empty, except for a salarian and a human, both of whom seemed to be in the midst of interstellar conversations. But Leni couldn't tell for sure, as each terminal was put in a small tube capable of handling one person at a time to ensure complete privacy.

Leni chose to use the terminal next to her. She was prompted to choose between several options, of which she chose a text message. This, being the cheapest option, cost two hundred and fifty credits, which was acceptable for Leni. She inserted the credits, then wrote the message:

_Mom & Dad,_

_I have safely arrived on the Citadel and been granted access to many of the wards. The enormity and populace on the Citadel is somewhat daunting, but I see many avenues of opportunity. I will not allow my fears to hinder my Pilgrimage. Know that I love you both, more than anything. I promise to stay in touch._

_Keelah se'lai, - Leni _

After submitting the message and stepping out of the tube, Leni noticed the two people who were there before she sent the message were now gone. There was, however, a krogan trying his best to fit into one of the tubes and use the terminal inside. _They should've made the tubes a little bigger than this._ She thought to herself. And she was right; the tubes were so small that only regularly-built species such as humans and asari could comfortably fit in, whereas the likes of the krogan and elcor could not.

"Excuse me?" asked Leni, in an attempt to draw the krogan's attention.

"What was that?" said the krogan, after turning around to face Leni.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Whatever, quarian. I'm not in the best mood right now. Get lost."

"Oops, sorry. I thought… I thought you might need help getting inside. Anyway…" Leni responded, then turned around to leave.

It wasn't until she was near the corridor exit when the krogan called back out to her,

"Quarian, wait…" which made Leni stop and turn back to the krogan. "I… I take that back; I think I could use your help here." he continued.

Leni could sense the apologetic tune in his voice somehow, despite the fact that krogan are widely known for their original and tuneless voices, making them one of the hardest species to read or understand from an emotional standpoint.

"Not at all. What can I do for you?" Leni responded keenly.

"Look, first of all, there is a very important call I need to make. Are you sure you want to help me, quarian?"

Leni stood still for a long five seconds, not sure what the krogan was trying to say, after which she said,

"No promises, but I'll see what I can do… after you tell me what's going on."

The krogan looked her in the eye for another five seconds before he continued,

"Well, listen, I don't know where to start, but I just received word regarding my brother. Apparently, he's been… assassinated." the krogan then lowered his head to the ground, feeling both sorry and shameful.

"Assassinated?" Leni exclaimed in shock.

"Dammit, lower your voice, girl!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Leni apologized, before moving closer to the krogan so the two could speak more privately.

"Well, seeing as how I'm apparently too big to get my ass inside this thing, I think you could do the job on my behalf."

At this point, Leni wasn't sure if she was right about thinking to help this krogan. The fact that an assassination was involved made Leni wish she had never offered assistance in the first place. She stood still for a while, then confessed,

"Look, sir, I am… sorry. I just … I don't think I can help you on this."

To which the krogan replied,

"Hm, should've seen this coming."

"I just don't think I can do this. You know, assassination and whatnot…" Leni continued, honestly.

"Yeah, yeah. Just get back to where the hell you came from. I can fix my problem." the krogan said.

Leni made her way out of the terminal section without saying anything, feeling both embarrassed and scared. _Why am I like this? _She asked herself. _I need to overcome this pathetic feeling of nervousness and shyness. _She was almost crying now, whilst standing at a dark corner near the exit of the terminal section. She was then interrupted by a human who happened to walk right past her,

"Are you… okay?" said the human, a youngman.

"Yes. I'm okay. Thanks." was Leni's immediate response.

"You don't look okay. What's the problem? I can help you." he insisted.

"I said I'm fine." Leni replied, then turned to walk away, until she saw the same krogan right in front of her.

"Looks like I was too harsh." said the krogan, his voice half serious and half sarcastic.

"It's okay…" replied Leni.

The youngman, still standing not too far behind, could hear the krogan say _"Looks like I was too harsh"_. This automatically led him to think that Leni was explicitly molested by the krogan somehow.

"Hey! What did you just say?" said the human, in reference to the krogan.

The krogan looked at him in surprise, as he hadn't seen him trying to comfort Leni.

"Do I know you, human?" was his neutral and cold response.

"I don't make a habit of making friends with krogans…... krogan." the youngman responded, after taking a step back and crossing his arms.

"Ha! Kids trying to show off in front of girls. Typical human attitude. You better go away or I'll decorate the wall with your brains, kid." said the krogan.

"You son-of-a-bitch! You're obviously making life too hard for this innocent quarian. YOU walk away or this will get very unpleasant!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Didn't know humans were so serious. Look, kid, this isn't a game. If you want a fight, you'll be happy to know that that's what I'm best at. But you need to think twice before you proceed."

"Hey guys! Stop it! This isn't worth it." Leni interrupted.

"What…?" was both men's response.

"I'm fine. I just need to… talk… okay?" Leni said, trying to choose suitable words.

"Talk to whom?" the human asked, curious.

"This guy." she answered, pointing at the krogan, before she continued, "We have no problem as you might have thought. It was simply a misunderstanding." Leni informed the human.

"What kind of misunderstanding is that?" he asked.

"Not a misunderstanding in the literal sense, but… well, basically, I'm on my Pilgrimage - a rite of passage all quarians must pursue when they come of age. I left my whole life back in the flotilla and got here to look for something of value. I just can't help but feel all shy and nervous. I've been on the Citadel for no more than twenty minutes. I need to be more familiar with the surroundings in order to proceed with my journey." she explained.

"Hm, well then, quarian, sorry I asked to help you. Make yourself at home... With the krogan." said the young human, obviously sarcastic.

The krogan started to feel seriously angry at the human's inappropriate behavior. His krogan nature was telling him to jump and snap the young man's nick, but he thought he would warn him for the last time.

"Human. That's enough. One more word out of your mouth and…"

The krogan's response was cut short when the human said,

"Whatever. Have fun you two, if possible. I have business to take care of back on Earth. Peace out." the young man commented, still sounding sarcastic, before he turned back and left.

"Sorry about that. I didn't…"

"It's alright, quarian. So I take it you're interested to hear my story and see if it's of interest to your Pilgrimage thing?"

"Yes, of course. But we should probably find a more appropriate spot than this. I thought I saw a nice lounge on my way to the terminals. We can go there and talk, if you'd like." Leni suggested.

"Right behind you, girl."


End file.
